BHAVANA SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Vol. 10, No. 4
October-December, 1994
Sanghamitta Edition
Copyright 1994 Bhavana Society
Bhavana Society
Rt. 1 Box 218-3
High View, WV 26808
Tel: (304) 856-3241
Fax: (304) 856-2111
* * *
This electronic edition is offered for free distribution
via DharmaNet by arrangement with the Bhavana Society.
Formatting: John Bullitt
DharmaNet International
P.O. Box 4951, Berkeley CA 94704-4951
* * * * * * * *
CONTENTS
{1} That which is impermanent is unsatisfactory -- Bhante H.
Gunaratana
{2} Notes and News -- Ven Nyanaponika Mahathera (1901-1994);
Kathina; Travel; New Meditation Hall
{3} 1995 Full Moon and New Moon Days
{4} 1995 Retreat Schedule
{5} Bhavana Society Tape Collection -- New Releases
* * * * * * * *
{1}
THAT WHICH IS IMPERMANENT IS UNSATISFACTORY
by Bhante H. Gunaratana
Everything is changing. Changes are astronomical, physical,
psychological and there is no end to it. One form of matter changes
into another form. One situation changes into another. One experience
changes into another. Some changes are inconceivably rapid and some
very slow. At the blink of your eye an incalculable number of things
change all over the universe and all over you. This whole world once
was a part of the sun without any living being on it. Then it cooled
down and was covered with ice. When the ice melted it was covered with
water. When the water level went down a mass of land with mountains
and lowlands appeared. This one land mass, through natural changes
over millions of years, is divided into continents. Wet lands at one
time became a dry land at another time. A cold country at one time
became a very hot country at another time. A very prosperous green
land at one time became a desert at another time. The space once
occupied by the sea and sea animals is now full of mountains with many
trees and numerous land animals. This process of change in this world
is going on forever. One day this world will become unsuitable for
living beings. From the beginning of human civilization this change
has been accelerating.
If you travel by airplane, within seconds you could be moving from
98 degrees Fahrenheit temperature zone to 10 degrees Fahrenheit
temperature zone. The change of weather directly affects your body and
mind. If the weather is hot with polluted air, sticky, muggy, humid,
cold, windy, snowy, rainy, or cloudy, you experience a lot of pain.
The change can take place quickly or slowly and smoothly. As your body
and mind are surrounded by the atmosphere, any change in the
atmosphere affects your mind and body. It does not matter where the
change takes place -- within you or without you; you are changing.
Every moment, every second, all the great forces of earth, water, fire
and air are changing. At the same speed they are changing within you.
You may not notice any of them.
At every heart beat, arteries in your body carry blood away from
the heart and veins carry blood to the heart. Oxygen-rich blood from
the lungs is pumped by the heart to the tissues and the returning
oxygen-poor blood is sent to the lungs by this process. At any given
moment your blood in your body is recycling. Every time you breathe
in, you bring oxygen to your lungs. Every time you breathe out, you
discharge carbon dioxide from your lungs. Every moment your body is
putting out waste material through the pores of your skin. Every
moment, every cell, every sub-atomic particle in your body is dying
out and new particles are born. The food that you consume in solid
form or liquid form replaces all the dying minerals, vitamins,
protein, iron, calcium, etc. in your body. While this process is going
on with full cooperation of everything else in your body, you are
aging, your internal organs are aging, your skin is growing, maturing,
forming wrinkles and flaking off. Through this process of change your
hair is turning gray; your teeth are decaying, your eyes are becoming
weak, your hearing is becoming weak, your taste buds are becoming
weak; your nails are becoming harder and more brittle, your bones are
becoming more porous and weak; and your joints are losing their
grease. Millions and millions of activities are going on in your body
and mind at any given moment. You can never be aware of all of them.
Similarly you could not find the feeling you had at the moment you
woke up in the morning. The feeling you had ten minutes after you woke
up would not be there fifteen minutes later. All your feelings from
the moment you woke up till you go to bed change continually. In the
same manner all your perceptions, all your thoughts and all states of
consciousness change, as well.
At the very moment we are born we start our journey of change which
is known as growing, maturing and dying. At the very moment you enter
into what you call a "happy life of marriage", impermanence begins to
hover over your head, reminding you that you will be separated by
death, for every union ends up in separation. In this space age, some
people may even have to prepare for the inevitable ending of their new
"happy life" by divorce due to the fact that their sensual pleasure is
subject to the law of diminishing return. Your love changes, your hate
changes, your body changes and your mind changes. Nothing remains the
same for two consecutive moments.
Any physicist or chemist possesses this knowledge. Pre-Socratic
philosophers, like Heraclitus of Ephesus, have spoken of incessant and
universal flux. However, the knowledge of change itself does not do
any good for you if you do not use it for growing, maturing and
understanding the very nature of your own predicament. You should
incorporate your knowledge of change into your life and use it as a
means of liberation from suffering. It is not the knowledge of
impermanence itself but the way you handle it or the way you use it
that opens your mind to the understanding of reality. When you know
things are impermanent you prepare for the reality of impermanence.
Knowledge of constant change should help you realize the danger of
clinging to changing objects. When you cling to anything which is
subject to change, you experience pain. It is not by deceiving
yourself by trying to defy this process of change but by clear
understanding and accepting it that you can let go of your hatred and
be calm, relaxed and peaceful. //Resisting the law of change is the
cause of friction and pain//. Going with the change is the way to
relieve that friction in your own mind.
All your experiences are unsatisfactory because they are
impermanent. Everything, without exception, is changing all the time.
No one can stop it. Seeing with wisdom the impermanence of all things
is a way to purification of the mind [1] In the same vein we read,
"Whenever one reflects on the rise and fall of all the aggregates, one
enjoys peace and joy comparable to that of immortality." [2]
"That which is impermanent is unsatisfactory" [3] is one of the
most fundamental axioms in the Buddha's teaching. The First Noble
Truth is directly related to this eternal Dhamma. "Whether Buddhas
appear or do not appear, there is this established condition of
Dhamma, this fixed Law of Dhamma. All that is conditioned is
impermanent, unsatisfactory and all Dhammas are without self. To this
a Buddha fully awakens and fully understands. So awakened and
understanding, He announces, points out, declares, establishes,
expounds, explains and clarifies it: all that is conditioned is
impermanent, unsatisfactory and all Dhammas are without self." [4]
When you read this it may occur to you, "Oh! yes, when my pain
changes I experience pleasure and joy right then and there. When I
think of it I experience joy and happiness." Well, it is not that
simple. There is much more to it. The change of pain to pleasure is
certainly a pleasant experience. If that pleasant experience remains
unchanged, you would be very pleased and joyful for the rest of your
life. Unfortunately things don't happen that way. When you were young,
you were healthy, vigorous, active and free from obligations. Almost
all of us have felt that way. That was the time you perhaps wishfully
thought that only others become old, but you would remain young. Only
they become sick but you would remain healthy forever.
"Did you never see in the world a man, or a woman, eighty, ninety,
or a hundred years old, frail, crooked as a gable-roof, bent down,
resting on crutches, with tottering steps, infirm, youth long since
fled, with broken teeth, gray and scanty hair or none, wrinkled, with
blotched limbs? And did the thought never come to you that you also
are subject to decay, that you also cannot escape it?
"Did you never see in the world a man, or a woman who, being sick,
afflicted, and grievously ill, wallowing in his own filth, was lifted
up by some and put to bed by others? And did the thought never come to
you that you also are subject to disease, that you also cannot escape
it?
"Did you never see in the world the corpse of a man, or a woman,
one or two or three days after death, swollen up, blue-black in color,
and full of corruption? And did the thought never come to you that you
also are subject to death, that you also cannot escape it?" [5]
As you grow older and older you lose your youthfulness, health,
vigor, and agility. Then you begin to see impermanence face to face,
very vividly, and you may not like it. Because of your memory of doing
things with some agility and flexibility, you build up your courage.
Because of your strength and pride you may think that you could be
able to perform everything much better and faster when you are young.
When you are older, because of your accumulated experiences in life,
you might understand things much faster and more easily than when you
were young. Nevertheless, the body and mind do not cooperate with your
wishful thinking or desire. You wish to be consistent in your
abilities of hearing, seeing, tasting, touching, speaking, movements,
thinking and so on. Soon you begin to realize, however, that your body
and mind have changed even though you may like to think that you are
still young in heart and spirit. Because of your past good kamma you
even wish to defy change, growth and decay. You wish to learn more and
more new things and retain what you have learned. Not withstanding
your pride of youth, health, and strength, you humbly surrender to the
truth of Dhamma and learn from your mature experience to meet it face
to face.
You may know some very healthy people at the age of 70 or 80 who
say "I will live 120 years." A few days or a couple of weeks later
they drop dead. Sometimes people say "If you think young you never
grow old and live forever." Unfortunately, the reality of impermanence
hits them very hard at a most unexpected moment in life, despite their
positive thinking.
This reminds me of a story of somebody who went to a very remote
and primitive part of the world and found a very old-looking man. This
sophisticated and most ambitious visitor asked this man "How old are
you?" He said, "130". He asked him, "What is the secret of living so
long?" He said, "I always think young." This ambitious man returned to
his rocket-age society and started giving lectures; telling people,
"If you think young, you will never die. I met 130-year-old people in
such and such a region. The secret of their long life is that they
always think young." Another more realistic visitor happened to be in
the same vicinity and he found out that people in that region do not
keep their birth records. When he asked another very old-looking man
how old he was, he got a similar reply. While he was interviewing this
man he saw a younger man laughing, holding his stomach. He approached
him and asked him why he was laughing. He said "This is my uncle and
he is only 70 years old. He does not know his birthday". Everybody in
that region thinks that they are twice as old as they really are
because they do not know their birth day.
Absolutely no one has ever been able to defy the truth of
impermanence, which exists eternally. All beings are subject to the
same law of impermanence. All who have lived on earth in the past have
obeyed and surrendered to this sacred law. What you cherish today in
your memories are the most insignificant fraction of some of the
thoughts, words, deeds, events and things left behind by a smallest
fraction of beings that lived in the past. You have no knowledge of
those who have not left any record.
Change is not a feeling, but pain is. Therefore change itself is
neither pleasant nor unpleasant nor neutral. Your mind shifts from one
feeling to another, depending upon your mood. When you have a pleasant
feeling, for instance, you cling to it with greed, for you are unaware
of the fact that the pleasant feeling will change. When it changes you
become unhappy. If you experience the pleasant feeling with
mindfulness, the change of the pleasant feeling does not make you
unhappy, for you are aware of the change and you anticipate the change
of the pleasant feeling. If your attitude toward the feeling is guided
by your mindfulness, then the change of one feeling or another does
not make you unhappy. You are often unaware that it is your desire for
permanent pleasure from impermanent things that causes your
unsatisfactoriness. How can you have permanent pleasure from
impermanent experience? Any change is painful. When a pleasant feeling
-- whether physical or mental -- arises, you wish that it would not
change at all or you wish that it would change as slowly as possible.
You wish the unpleasant feeling would change as fast as possible.
Unfortunately, change does not obey your wish. Everything, pleasant
or unpleasant, within you or without you, things near to you or far
away from you, gross or subtle, is changing. When change goes on
defying your wish and crushing everything under its most powerful
weight, you experience very unpleasant feelings of not getting what
you wish.
You know that the sameness of anything is dull and boring; you need
a change. Then you change it and the new situation changes as well.
Then you change it again, hoping "This time I will be happy for ever."
The change does not make any concession or discrimination. It remains
fair and square with everything, everybody and all the time, and
continues to change everything.
Nothing in your body and mind remains the same for two consecutive
moments. The change is absolutely necessary for your improvement,
growth, maturity, understanding, courage, determination, knowledge and
wisdom; in short, even for your existence. Even the attainment of
enlightenment is not possible without the process of psychological
changes.
However, you do not experience any physical or mental pain directly
as cause of change in your body, feeling, perception, thoughts or your
consciousness. Then why is it said, "Change causes pain?" As you may
notice, this axiom does not say that you experience pain while the
change is taking place. What it says is "That which is subject to
change is painful." If the pleasure is subject to change, it
necessarily and intrinsically is also subject to pain. "But how?" is
our question. It is not the change itself that creates pain, but your
desire for the things you enjoy. It is your desire for permanent
enjoyment from impermanent experience that causes pain. When pain
changes you experience pleasure. You welcome it. When pleasure changes
you experience pain. The change of pain into pleasure is more
desirable. You go through this yo-yo experience or pendulum
experience, between pain and pleasure. When you practice mindfulness
of change in your body and mind, you will not be affected by the
change. You endure cold and heat, hunger and thirst, wind and sun,
attacks by gadflies, mosquitoes and reptiles. [6] Those who are
capable of seeing this simple truth are the ones who are really
peaceful and happy.
The knowledge you gain from this experience of change of pleasure
and pain helps you grow and mature. You remember this monotonous and
repetitious occurrence in your life from your youngest days. This
memory of change of things in the past makes it easy for you to face
and accept whatever comes up in your life.
In a much deeper and more complete sense, you understand change
when you mindfully watch all your activities in life. You do only
three things in your entire life-- have thoughts, words and deeds. All
of them have changed in the past, are changing now and will change in
the future. There is no way that anybody can stop this constant flux
of activities in your life. Therefore you can say without hesitation
that no person can do the same activity twice in the same manner. As
life is like a river, nothing remains stagnant. If you cannot
penetrate into the depth of this simple truth, this constant flow or
constant change may make your life very painful.
Natural change is known as evolution and forced change is called
revolution. The underlying truth in both is pain. You may try to
resist change. When you have perfected your mindfulness and learn to
remain the same under all circumstances, then you will not react to
any change. This, of course, is impossible for someone who has not
attained enlightenment. The enlightened beings have the same
experience as anybody else. However, they do not suffer because they
have eliminated both the desire for pleasure and the resentment for
displeasure. Desire and ignorance are the causes of suffering.
He who binds himself to joy
Does the winged life destroy
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sun rise.
-- William Blake
* * *
NOTES
~~~~~
[1] //sabbe sankhara aniccati -- yada pannaya passati; atha nibbindati
dukkhe -- esa maggo visuddhiya// (Dhp. Vs. 277).
[2] //Yato yato sammasati -- khandhanam udayabbayam; labhati piti
pamojjam - amatam ta vijanatam// (ibid Vs. 374).
[3] //yad aniccam tam dukkham//.
[4] Abbreviated from Dhammaniyama Sutta.
[5] SN. XXII, 29; "The Word of the Buddha," by Nyanatiloka, Wheel
Publication, Fifteenth edition, 1971 pp. 13-14.
[6] MN. I. 119, "The Word of the Buddha," by Nyanatiloka, Wheel
Publication, Fifteenth edition, 1971 p.67.
* * * * * * * *
{2}
NOTES AND NEWS
Ven. Nyanaponika Mahathera (1901 - 1994)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the hour before dawn on Wednesday, 19th October 1994, the
distinguished German scholar-monk, Venerable Nyanaponika Mahathera,
Founding-President and Patron of the Buddhist Publication Society
(BPS), passed away at his residence, the Forest Hermitage in the
Udawattakele Reserve, Kandy. At the time of his passing Ven.
Nyanaponika was the seniormost Theravada Buddhist monk of Western
origin in the world, both in age (93) and in years in the Sangha. That
same day he had completed his 57th rains as a bhikkhu.
Despite minor infirmities and advancing blindness over the past
forty years, Ven. Nyanaponika had enjoyed remarkably robust health
through his 93rd birthday on 21st July. His birthday was celebrated
joyously by his friends and the BPS staff with the release of the BPS
edition of his book The Vision of Dhamma. He was especially happy to
know that on that day the BPS had commenced its Dhamma Dana Project by
sending out over a hundred gift copies of' this book to Buddhist
centers and temples around the world. In late August, however, the
inexorable process of aging suddenly accelerated, ushering in a
combination of ailments that signaled the approaching end. Ven.
Nyanaponika was brought to a private hospital for medical treatment in
late September, but as he sensed his end coming and wished to pass
away in his familiar surroundings, at his own request he was returned
to the Forest Hermitage after a week in the hospital. Three weeks
later, in the hushed quiet of the pre-dawn forest, he breathed his
last. Ven. Nyanaponika maintained lucidity of mind through his
terminal illness, impressing visitors with his mental acuity, his
heartfelt concern for others, and his unfailing sense of humor even in
physical affliction.
Born in Hanau, Germany, in 1901 into a Jewish family, with the name
Siegmund Feniger, the future bhikkhu became a Buddhist by
self-conviction before his twentieth year. Intent on entering the
Buddhist order, in 1936 he left Germany for Sri Lanka. In June of that
year he received novice ordination (pabbajja) as a pupil of the
illustrious German elder Ven. Nyanatiloka Mahathera (1878- 1957), who
was himself a prolific author and translator of Pali Buddhist texts.
The following year he took higher ordination (upasampada). He received
his monastic training at the Island Hermitage (Polgasduwa) in
Dodanduwa, established by Ven. Nyanatiloka in 1911 as a retreat center
for Western monks. During the Second World War Ven. Nyanaponika was
interned both in Sri Lanka and in India. He returned to Sri Lanka in
1946 and, together with his teacher, was made a citizen of the newly
independent country in 1950. From 1952 until his death he resided at
the Forest Hermitage.
Ven. Nyanaponika earned worldwide recognition for his authoritative
expositions of Theravada Buddhism and for his lucid translations of
Pali Buddhist texts into both English and German. His best known book,
The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, has attained the stature of a
modern Buddhist classic and has been translated into seven languages.
His shorter essays from the BPS's Wheel and Bodhi Leaves series--all
models of clarity and depth of thought--have been collected into a
single volume, The Vision of Dhamma. He is also the author of
Abhidhamma Studies, investigations into the philosophical psychology
of early Buddhism. His numerous German works include several books on
Satipatthana meditation, a translation of the Suttanipata, and a
translation of the Atthasalini (currently in the press). Ven.
Nyanaponika was one of the three founders of the Buddhist Publication
Society in Kandy, which he served as Editor from its birth in 1958
until 1984 and as President until 1988. From 1988 until his death he
was the Society's distinguished Patron. It was above all, his
sagacious guidance, his overflowing compassion, and his dedication to
the Dhamma that transformed the BPS into a major Buddhist publisher,
bringing the teachings of the Buddha to over eighty countries around
the world. His own outstanding writings and his devoted service to the
Sasana through the BPS constitute one of the truly monumental
contributions to Theravada Buddhism in the twentieth century. Ven.
Nyanaponika was made an honorary member of the German Oriental Society
in 1978 and was also a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science.
In recent years within Sri Lanka he received several honors befitting
his achievements. In 1987 the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri
Lanka awarded him its first-ever honorary degree of Doctor of
Literature. In 1990 the University of Peradeniya granted him the
honorary degree of Doctor of Letters at a convocation held specially
for him in the courtyard of the Forest Hermitage. In 1993 the
Amarapura Nikaya, the chapter of the Buddhist monastic order into
which he had been ordained 56 years earlier, conferred on him the
honorary title of Amarapura Maha Mahopadhyaya Sasana Sobhana, Great
Mentor of the Amarapura Nikaya, Ornament of the Teaching..
The body of Ven. Nyanaponika was cremated on 23rd October at the
Mahaiyawa Cemetery in Kandy at a funeral attended by religious and lay
dignitaries as well as by his many friends and admirers. The remains
are to be interred near the remains of his revered teacher at the
Island Hermitage in Dodanduwa, where Ven. Nyanaponika spent his
formative years as a monk. The entire Buddhist world, and in
particular the English- and German-reading followers of Theravada
Buddhism, will forever be indebted to him for his life of selfless
service in transmitting the wisdom of the Buddha to humanity.
-- Bhikkhu Bodhi
Kathina Celebration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This year's Kathina celebration was organized by Mr. & Mrs. Bau
Nguyen, Sila Phong Nguyen and Thanh & Diep Nguyen with the help of
many other Vietnamese friends and members of the Bhavana Society,
including Americans, Burmese, Cambodians, Germans, Srilankans, and
Thais. Nine monks and two nuns also participated in the ceremony. The
weather was very cooperative for us to hold the ceremony on the Sima
ground so that many people were able to watch.
Travel and teaching
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bhante Gunaratana will be conducting retreats in the following
locations: November 18-20: Philadelphia; December 1-8: Edmonton; 8-12:
Calgary, Canada; January 13-15: Florida; February 6 - 13 Singapore;
14-20: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 21- March 6: Sri Lanka; April 10-13:
London; 14-19: Kendal Buddhist Society, Lake District; 20-25: Austria;
26- May 10: Germany; June 1- 11: Ocate, NM.; July 14-August 6: Brazil.
Bhante Rahula has been invited by the Mahabodhi International
meditation center in Ladakh (North India) to lead a series of five
meditation retreats in the trans-Himalayan state during July, August
and September next year (1995).
If anyone has been wanting a good chance to visit India and the
Himalayas this is a opportunity to combine adventure travel and
meditation.
Two retreats will be "trekking retreats" and two others, "camp out"
retreats. You can write to Bhante Rahula for more details, i.e., dates
of each retreat etc., if interested.
Our Office Hours
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During non-retreat times: 9:00 - 11:00am and 2:00 - 6:30pm.
During retreat times: 5:00 - 6:00pm only
Please leave a message, including your telephone number on our
answering machine if nobody answers your call. In addition, please
leave your name and address if you need any information. When you
leave a message, please speak very slowly. We will call you back
collect as soon as possible.
Voluntary help wanted
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the one hand we are very pleased to hear that more and more people
are interested in learning Dhamma and on the other we feel sad when we
are unable to keep up with their requests. At present we have requests
for Dhamma audio tapes. Being always understaffed we are compelled to
make a request of our Newsletter readers. We would greatly appreciate
it if any of you who read this announcement would kindly volunteer to
help us duplicate our audio Dhamma cassettes. Also if you have a home
computer would you mind making cassette labels, printing them and
printing a tape list to distribute? This has to be done in the United
States.
One who shares Dhamma is sharing immortality. (//Amatam dado ca so
hoti -- yo dhammam anusasati//)
NEW MEDITATION HALL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our new meditation hall is slowly and surely progressing. In early
November, concrete was poured for the foundation. Plans for the
structure are now complete; it will be of post-and-beam construction,
with hardwood floor and clay tile roof. The building will be
efficiently heated by burning wood and passive solar energy. It will
have a large room for seated meditation, including a separate hallway
for walking meditation and an attached greenhouse for flowers for the
Buddha, year round. The meditation hall will be on the opposite end of
the main building from the kitchen, providing a much quieter
meditation space.
Construction on the meditation hall will begin in the Spring, pending
the receipt of sufficient donations. Material costs - not including
the tile roof, hardwood floor, or greenhouse - are estimated at
$52,000; of which approximately half has been donated to date. We are
actively seeking additional funds, so that we may go forward
confidently with construction in the Spring. Your generous support is
needed and will be deeply appreciated.
* * * * * * * *
{3}
1995 FULL MOON AND NEW MOON DAYS
NEW MOON DAYS FULL MOON DAYS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday Jan 1 Monday Jan 16
Monday Feb 30 Wednesday Feb 15
Wednesday Mar 1 Friday Mar 17
Friday Mar 31 Saturday Apr 15
Saturday April 29 Sunday May 14
Monday May 29 Tuesday Jun 13
Wednesday Jun 28 Wednesday Jul 12
Thursday Jul 27 Thursday Aug 10
Saturday Aug 26 Saturday Sep 9
Sunday Sep 24 Sunday Oct 8
Tuesday Oct 24 Tuesday Nov 7
Wednesday Nov 22 Thursday Dec 7
Friday Dec 22
* * * * * * * *
{4}
1995 RETREAT SCHEDULE
Weekend retreats Ten day retreats
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Feb 3-5 Mar 10-19
Apr 7-9 Jun 30-Jul 9
Jun 2-4 Apr 28-May 7
Jul 28-30 Sep 1-10
Oct 6-8 Nov 3-12
Youth retreat: Aug 11-13
Family and Work retreat: Sep 22-24
Year-ending two-week retreat 1995: Dec 15-31
* * * * * * * *
{5}
BHAVANA SOCIETY TAPE COLLECTION
New Releases
(BR = Bhante Rahula)
The Retreat Experience
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAPE 344 (BR) 7/2/94
Description of what one might experience during a retreat.
Expectations compared to reality. Understandings and insights
developed during a retreat. Necessary attitude towards body/mind
process. Gross to subtle levels in the cultivation of awareness.
Dhamma-The Way Things Are
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAPE 345 (BR) 7/3/94
An explicit, detailed explanation of what is meant by The Way Things
Are. Options we have and results of choosing. Effectiveness and
results of mindfulness training. Establishing and maintaining a safety
zone.
Causes and States of Mental Conditions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAPE 150 (Bhante Sukhacitto) 7/4/94
Going beyond the view of "I want to get something from this retreat".
Right understanding necessary to develop a practice of mental
cultivation. Five aggregates of clinging explained. Using the body as
a mindfulness anchor.
The Second Noble Truth and Self
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAPE 346 (BR) 7/5/94
Relationship of sense of self and thinking explained. Effect of deep
meditation on the "I am". Why desires can never be satisfied. Basis of
ignorance described. Three causes of pain and conflict.
The First Noble Truth and the Dhamma
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAPE 347 (BR) 7/6/94
Levels and aspects of dukkha explained. Three classifications of
dhamma practice which overcome levels of suffering. The necessity and
benefits of precepts clarified. Using the peaceful concentrated mind
to develop wisdom. The function of insight.
Reading from Discourses of the Buddha
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAPE 348 (BR) 7/7/94
Discourse on what is to be followed and what is not to be followed.
Right effort-one of the most critical factors in dhamma practice.
Majjhima Nikaya. (full name of the sutta given.)Bodily, vocal, mental
conduct. Bases of indolence and energy.
TAPE 151 (Bhante Sukhacitto) 7/8/94
The Paramis and Destroying the Kilesas. Investigating the source of
defilements. Reflections on believing, disbelieving or keeping an open
mind. Paramis as an antidote to the kilesas and leading to the Buddha
mind. Characteristics of existence discussed.
The Essence of the Practice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAPE 349 (BR) 9/3/94
Meanings of Dhamma. Natural law explained in terms of the conditioned
world, mind and body. Meaning and value of seeing reality as it is.
Finding true security and refuge.
Practical Aspects of Wisdom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAPE 350 (BR) 9/4/94
Main purpose of the practice described. Making the unconscious become
conscious. How to approach the mind. Methods of applying the Four
Foundations of Mindfulness. Development of concentrated awareness.
Aspects of the Conditioned Mind
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAPE 351 (BR) 9/5/94
Conditioning as an aspect of non-self. Importance of understanding the
nature of feelings. Aggregates of the mental process described.
Creation of kamma at the sankharas. Illusion of "I" explained.
Practicing Dhamma in Ordinary Life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAPE 352 (BR) 9/9/94
Qualities of the mind to be developed in everyday life. In depth
description of dana. Three things accompanying the practice of Dhamma.
Explanation and definition of sila and renunciation.
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